Just as September always reminds me of hurricanes, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to spend another Labor Day Weekend without remembering Labor Day 2004.
Lights Out, Uh Huh, Dance, Dance, Dance!
At one p.m. on Labor Day 2004 the electricity went out. It would not come back on for another three and a half days.
I was napping on the couch, and I think Wayne was too, when the commotion started. Sirens, to be exact. We woke to see neighbors running up the street. We went out to investigate the brew ha-ha and learned a branch had fallen and snapped a power line on a neighbor’s lawn. Keep in mind, limbs of trees in our neighborhood could be tree-sized in their own rights. Live oaks grow to towering heights, and that’s what kind of tree limb had snapped off on the power line.
The clouds had been heavy all day, but once outside everyone became aware of the increased winds. More than branches were starting to fall. So were trees themselves. Live oaks don’t have deep root systems. If they’re not well-trimmed, they can get top heavy and catch the wind, which will send them toppling over and crushing anything in their paths.
Timmmmberrrr!
Our across the street neighbors noticed a tree on the side of their house swaying precariously. While the firemen were tending to the downed lined, Mr. Goodman took the initiative to get their opinion on that tree.
Next thing I know a fireman’s at our house telling us it’d be a good idea to evacuate. Even though the tree was across the street, if it fell it was going to topple down directly on our house. But there were also power lines in the way that it’d bring down and if we didn’t leave beforehand, we’d be trapped and rescue might prove difficult.
Say no more! I hopped on the phone, explained the situation to Aunt Karen, and asked if Murphy and Mr. Meow could come hang out with Tucker . Of course they were welcome, but while I was scrambling to pack up their stuff, somehow Mr. Goodman found a tree service willing and able to come brave the 60 mile per hour winds. They safely took down the tree before the winds increased and knocked the tree over.
The Team Pryor Huddle
That was just the start of the fury that was Hurricane Frances. And we were just dealing with the outer bands of it, the tropical strength force winds. But let me tell you they wreaked plenty o’havoc.
That night was the darkest night I’ve ever known. We had a little radio that we kept on at all times. That’s how we knew about the tornado coming our way. We herded Murph and Mr. Meow into the hallway with us and huddled together until we got word it had passed.
But we heard it. We heard the crack of trees snapping in half, felt at the same time we heard the thunder of those trees slamming into the ground. But we made it through. The next morning we woke to what resembled a war zone on our block. Some houses had not escaped being in the path of falling trees, but everyone we knew was okay.
Troopers
Murph and Kitty were such troopers. They stayed close to us at night, even though we were sweltering in a hot A/C-less bedroom. They suffered the constant roar of the generators throughout the days that followed. They suffered us smelling pretty ripe at times. (We did our best to bathe, but we were on a well. No electricity meant no pump. We had to fill buckets from a faucet outside and haul them around to flush toilets and such.)
I groused a lot. Wayne groused a lot. Murph and Kitty? They just rolled with it. They kept close those days, and you could tell there were times they were uncomfortable from the heat, but they were no Grumpy Gus’s.
However, when the electricity was finally restored at 11 p.m. three nights later, they contentedly placed themselves in front of the vents that were once again blowing cold air.
It was a Labor Day I’ll never forget. And each time we spend a Labor Day lazing around and barbecuing, I thank my stars we’re not dealing with another Frances!
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